Xolo Mariduena stars ase Jaime Reyes in Warner Bros.’ “Blue Beetle.”
Warner Bros. Discovery
It’s pink vs. blue on the box office this weekend.
As “Barbie” continues a historic run in theaters, a little-known superhero called “Blue Beetle” is seeking to take the highest spot on the charts this weekend.
With $3.3 million from Thursday night previews, Warner Bros. Discovery’s latest film based on a DC Comics character is predicted to absorb between $22 million and $32 million during its domestic debut.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros.’ “Barbie,” which has steadily tallied $545 million domestically since its late July release, is predicted so as to add between $17 million and $22 million during its fifth weekend.
“Blue Beetle” arrives in theaters after several DC Comics-based movies have flopped on the box office and while the studio undergoes a serious creative regime change.
“The 4 movies released this 12 months are orphans,” said Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University and a popular culture expert, referring to DC titles “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” “The Flash,” “Blue Beetle” and the upcoming “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.”
“They’re a part of the old universe that is about to get completely rebooted. [Warner Bros.] has to advertise these, they need them to be big hits, obviously, but there’s a way that they are a part of the old guard,” Thompson said.
And audiences have not turned out for these movies thus far. “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” generated just $57.6 million domestically and “The Flash” tallied somewhat greater than $100 million within the U.S. and Canada.
These performances show an “indifference” from audiences, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
Will ‘Blue Beetle’ take flight or be squashed?
When “Blue Beetle” first entered development in 2018, there was potential for the character of Jaime Reyes, the person behind the moniker, to cross paths with DC’s other famed heroes. Nevertheless, turnover on the studio, mostly attributable to the merger between Warner Media and Discovery, has put the longer term of the hero in query.
As superhero movies have turn into more popular within the cultural zeitgeist, much of the appeal of massive franchises has been the interconnectability of the stories. It’s why Disney’s Marvel Studios was in a position to to introduce obscure comic book characters just like the Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man and Moon Knight into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and switch them into fan favorites.
Blue Beetle, without the promise of interaction with Justice League veterans like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash or Aquaman, won’t have the option to drum up much enthusiasm on the box office.
To make sure, standalone, unconnected movies have had success for DC within the recent past, but they featured well-known characters like Batman and the Joker.
“We’re in limbo now,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “In a world where superheroes aren’t really novelties anymore, that is going to be a troublesome sell for a number of people.”
Robbins said “Blue Beetle,” which includes a Mexican-American family at its core, may benefit from an influx of Hispanic moviegoers in the identical way that Marvel’s “Black Panther” saw Black moviegoers who weren’t comic book fans rush out to see the film.
Critics have raved about Xolo Mariduena’s magnetic performance because the titular character and the way the film centers on a hero who’s family-focused, not a lone gunslinger.
“Blue Beetle” still falls into a few of the old trappings of past superhero movies, including chaotic, repetitive CGI fight sequences, but some say as DC course corrects in the subsequent few years, it should look to maintain Mariduena and Blue Beetle on its roster.
“A movie like ‘Blue Beetle’ may benefit from solid word-of-mouth,” said Dergarabedian. “Judgement for the most recent DC entry should come after the primary three weeks, not the primary three days in theaters.”
A latest era on the horizon
“Blue Beetle’s” biggest battle is recouping enough on the box office to justify its $125 million budget and any additional marketing costs spent by the studio.
The figure pales compared to the $200 million budget of “The Flash,” which capped its theatrical run at $268.5 million globally. After marketing costs and splitting ticket receipts with theaters, the film won’t break even for the studio.
Similar concerns abound for “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” which is scheduled for a December release. The sequel has a budget of around $205 million, but has gone through three separate rounds of reshoots in addition to endured pandemic production costs. While many blockbusters will turn to reshoots to punch up dialogue or insert scenes to make clear beats throughout the film, few require this many rounds of additional photography.
Much of the film’s issues got here from conflicting creative directions previous heads of the studio wanted for the the general DC Prolonged Universe. And now, with James Gunn and Peter Safran on the helm, the film appears to be going through its final series of changes.
Yet, the upcoming era of Gunn and Safran doesn’t guarantee a surefire future for DC Studios, said Thompson.
“I do not think there’s going to be this kind of miracle impulsively,” he said, noting that despite the pair’s pedigrees within the industry, including Gunn’s success with three Guardians of the Galaxy movies for Marvel, won’t immediately erase years of hit-or-miss movies from DC and the toll that took on audiences.
“That is pretty optimistic,” Thompson said.